For this incredibly rich tart, we combined two recipes: The recipe for the nut filling comes from Laurent Mariotte, a French food journalist and popular TV and radio presenter. The recipe for the shortcrust pastry comes from Jamie Oliver.
Ingredients (for 6 people):
For the shortcrust pastry for a tart tin with a diameter of approx. 30 cm:
- 125 g butter
- 100g powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 250 g flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons cold milk or water
For the nut filling:
- 200 g Grenoble walnuts (shelled)
- 200 g sugar (preferably light cane sugar)
- 1 deciliter of water
- 20 cl whipped cream
- 30 g mildly salted butter
- 30 g honey
- 2 eggs
Preparation:
Prepare the dough well in advance. Let it rest for an hour. To do this, form it into a roll or ball and wrap it in cling film.
For the dough, cream the butter with sugar and salt until creamy. Mix with the flour and egg yolks until crumbly. This can be done with a food processor or by hand. Now add the cold milk/water and knead everything into a smooth dough and form into a ball. Dust with flour and shape, tapping and pressing as quickly as possible. The goal is to work the ingredients into a dough as gently as possible so that it remains light and crumbly. (The more you knead it, the more elastic it becomes, which means it will shrink and become tough in the oven – and that should not happen! So don't overknead!)
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 170°C.
Grease and flour the bottom of the tart pan. Then pour in the dough and press it down firmly. Cover with baking paper, top with rice or dried beans, and pre-bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
For the caramel: Gently heat the water and sugar in a saucepan until a nice brown color. Then add the cream and continue to simmer over low heat. Remove from the heat, add the honey and butter, and mix everything together. Crack and roughly chop the nuts and add them. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, add the eggs and mix.
Pour the nut caramel mixture onto the pre-baked cake base and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Finally, decorate with nut halves or chocolate sauce (or whatever you like) and serve cooled.
